FSMT321Monte_W5_Discussion
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American Public University *
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321
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Communications
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Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by ColonelSeaLionPerson894
The United States has always been known as a melting pot. Our country continues to become more multicultural each and every year. As we read in Chapter 9, some groups in our communities do not respond to traditional fire safety education outlets. Because of different cultural values, reaching some groups and establishing meaningful relationships can be very challenging. However, many times these groups are the very people who we need to reach and change attitudes and behaviors regarding fire safety.
Using your textbook, the internet and other scholarly journals, research and report on a fire department that was able to reach out to a cultural group in their service area and improve the fire safety education efforts with this population of the community.
-Make sure to report demographic information on the service area using the US Census website.
-Include the difficulty the fire department was having reaching out to the particular group as well as the strategies they employed to improve relationships and make a positive impact.
-Also include how the fire department’s strategies could be replicated by other fire departments.
Hello Class,
Boston Fire Department, like many American Fire Departments, faces challenges in providing life safety education for certain demographics in their community. The United States Censes Bureau shows that 28% of Boston Residents are foreign born. The majority of the community is white (44%), African Americans make up 23% of the population, 9.7% are of Asian descent, Pacific Islanders are 0.1%, people claiming two or more races 9.6%, and 20% are Hispanic or Latino. The Department of Public Safety has concentrated their efforts on delivering safety messages to the these hard to reach demographics by putting health educators in public schools. These teachers are equipped with fire and burn prevention education materials to Boston Fire Department deliver fire prevention education.
A success story for Boston Fire Department has been the publication of “Fire Safety for Newcomers.” This booklet on fire safety is available in 7 different languages which include Chinese, English, Creole, Khmer, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. What makes this booklet stand out is that it also contains illustrations which serve as an “eighth language” which helps the illiterate understand the fire safety tips included in the booklet. This booklet was a collaborative effort by agencies such as the Governors Advisory Counsel on Refugees who provided details on cultural challenges faced in the community. For example, Laotian immigrants in the community are accustomed to well ventilated houses in which they commonly cooked on the floor. This style of cooking commonly caused burns and smoke-filled homes. Unfortunately, this means that it is rare for Laotians to evacuate at the site or smell of smoke. The “Fire Safety for Newcomers” booklet touches on the importance of how occupants should react to the smell of smoke or site of fire in any given situation and why evacuation is so important.
v/r
Brandon Monte
References:
Kulenkamp, Ann, et al. Reaching the Hard-to-Reach; Techniques from Fire Prevention Programs and Other Disciplines
. TriData Corp., Oct. 1994. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/bostoncitymassachusetts
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